


someday at christmas

by lulla_lunekjaer



Category: The Ever Afters Series - Shelby Bach
Genre: Gen, apparently not, wow E can you think of anything besides Christmas when you think of London
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-19 15:05:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5971309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lulla_lunekjaer/pseuds/lulla_lunekjaer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lena, at Christmas, or, Immortality is Awful</p>
            </blockquote>





	someday at christmas

**Author's Note:**

> The European Chapter of EAS moves between cities okay just let it be
> 
> Title from the Stevie Wonder song "Someday At Christmas"

Lena knew, in some ways, that it was Christmas, but she hadn't really thought about it until the night before.

She had nowhere to be, no one to be with. George's grandkids were spread across the globe, traveling, working, being with their own families. Though any one of then would have been happy to have her for Christmas, Lena had never found it easy to explain that she was the great-great-aunt of children almost the same age as she appeared.

Chase and Rory's daughter offered every year, but the sight of Rory's eyes for the first time in so long still drove knives through her heart.

So, here she was, alone on Christmas Eve.

She had come to London several weeks ago for a convention and simply stayed. It wasn't as though she didn't have the money.

The article on her in CHARACTER magazine had stated that "although Ms. LaMarelle is most famous for the invention of the spell which allows humans to visit the Merkingdom, it is her work with magical prostheses that has earned her the title of Most Influential North American Character of the Twenty-Fifth Century, as well as that of Richest North American Character."

Lena hated CHARACTER magazine.

She catches snatches of conversation as she walks down the streets of Europe's continuously moving Chapter.

"-just can't believe-"

"-to you too, Pat."

"-is that?"

"-so _young_ -"

"-snowing where Elsie is, the lucky-"

"-it's got to be"

"-those _hands_ -"  
  
Lena sighs. It was always the same. She goes somewhere, she stays, she's recognized, she's hounded, she leaves.  
  
She heads straight up to her hotel room, waving a key card past the guard at the front desk.

The man dressed in green in the elevator tries to catch her eye, but she stubbornly glares at the ascending numbers until they come to her floor and she leaves rather forcefully.

Christmas is a time for friends, for family, and Lena wants neither of those now. She remembers, years ago when she was thirteen, that she actually wanted this. "Do you know how many more inventions I could perfect if I had an extra hundred years?" she had said. It's been more then an extra hundred years now, and more than anything Lena's just so tired.

She doesn't want to deal with the little girl sleeping outside her door. She'll have to turn the girl away, see her face fall, keep her own face noncommittal as she calls security yet again.

She clears her throat, and the girl looks up.

That's when she sees her properly. Gold creeps all the way up the girl's arm and neck to her ear.

"Are you alone?" The girl doesn't look much younger than Lena, but her eyes are both old and young, the eyes of a child who grew up too soon. Rory's eyes, Chase's eyes, Adelaide's eyes, Rapunzel's eyes. Lena's eyes.

"Yes." The girl probably doesn't even realize she's rubbing her gold arm as she answers.

Lena has been so alone, for so long. This girl is alone, but she doesn't have to be. Not tonight.

"No one should be alone at Christmas."

A beat.

"Come in."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so the girl's name is Angelica and her parents died and she lost her arm when a giant fell on their house and she only survived because she was in the kitchen and the stove sheltered her from most of the debris but then fell on her arm and it had to be amputated and she was depressed and living in the hospital for a few weeks and then she was given a magical prosthetic arm from Lena's company, which is essentially a non-profit and gives prostheses away to victims of magical accidents. Angelica found out where it was from and tracked Lena down because she feels so indebted to her for giving her her life back, including finding the money for a train ticket from France, where she was living and it took her several weeks and Lena takes her in and trains her as her apprentice and they both have a purpose in life now.
> 
> That was kind of rambly but anyway I love Lena so much and she needs someone to take care of who'll take of her in turn.


End file.
